Thunderbolts Way

Thunderbolts Way
Basic data
Operator:	Roads and Maritime Services
Start of the street:	Bucketts Way Gloucester ( NSW ) ( 32 ° 0 ′  S , 151 ° 58 ′  E )
End of street:	Inverell-Bundarra Road south of Inverell ( NSW ) ( 29 ° 55 ′  S , 151 ° 7 ′  E )
Overall length:	274 km
States :	New South Wales
Warning sign on Thunderbolts Way

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

View from Carson's Lookout on Thunderbolt's Way

Plaque at Carson's Lookout on Thunderbolt's Way

The Thunderbolts Way is a connecting road in the northeast of the Australian state of New South Wales . It connects Bucketts Way in Gloucester with Inverell-Bundarra Road on Copes Creek , 10 miles south of Inverell .

history

Eric Carson (1913–1999), a sawmill owner and road builder from Gloucester, built the first road through the Great Dividing Range to clear the great hardwood from the woods. For many years he had tried unsuccessfully to convince the politicians of a road through the mountains from Gloucester to Nowendoc , he simply started building it himself. Building the road through 20 miles of the steepest and wildest areas in the state was fraught with many hazards, but he was able to complete it in 1961.

Carson's Lookout , where his work is remembered, is located between Gloucester and Nowendoc and offers a good vantage point over the panorama of the mountain range.

The street was named after the notorious bush thief Frederick Ward (1835-1870), who was known by his pseudonym Captain Thunderbolt . He roamed this area in the 19th century.

course

From Gloucester the road leads north-northeast through densely forested mountains, over the Gloucester River , the Barrington River , the Bowman River , the Manning River and the Barnard River , as well as along the Nowendoc River , past Woko National Park and various nature reserves . In Nowendoc it continues to follow the course of the river northwest to the source. Later she turns north and crosses the Oxley Highway (R34) in Walcha

From there, the Thunderbolts Way leads north-northwest again to the New England Highway (N15), which it crosses in Uralla . At the Rocky River settlement it leads over the river of the same name and then along the Gwydir River to Yarrowyck . The road continues to the northwest and crosses the Gwydir River twice at Bundarra . Here it leaves the river and heads north, towards Inverell. However, it does not reach the Gwydir Highway (R38), but ends 16 km south of Inverell at Copes Creek , from where the Inverell-Bundarra Road forms the further connection to the north.

Tourist importance

The steep, winding road is very popular with tourists, especially motorcyclists, and offers many places for picnics and fishing. Camping by the river is possible in the Gloryvale Reserve and the Bretti Reserve . There is a picnic area with toilets by the bridge over the Barrington River.

Occasionally one can spot dingoes , koalas or wombats from the street . On the southwestern roof of the Great Dividing Range you can often hear the calls of Bellbirds ( Manorina melanophrys ).

In Uralla, there is a statue of Captain Thunderbolt at the intersection of Thunderbolts Way and New England Highway.

In the Mount Yarrowyck Nature Reserve near the settlement of the same name on the Gwydir River, you can see cave drawings by the Aborigines , as well as the wonderful nature around Mount Yarrowyck .

The Gwydir Bridge in Bundarra is a steel truss bridge built in 1881 with five sections, 204 m long and 5.6 m wide. Because of its construction, its historical value and its aesthetic appearance it is considered a monument of federal status.

Web links

Commons : Thunderbolts Way  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Gary Evans: Short cut is long on appeal . News Limited. January 17, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2009.

swell

• Map of Thunderbolts Way (PDF) Cartoscope Pty Limited . Retrieved August 18, 2009.

• Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007. ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 . P. 27 + 29

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Topographic Maps 1: 100000; 9138 Inverell, 9137 Bundarra, 9136 Bendemeer, 9236 Armidale, 9235 Yarrowitch, 9234 Upper Manning and 9233 Gloucester. Retrieved April 19, 2010
2. ↑ Steve Meacham: Roads less traveled . The Sydney Morning Herald. November 13, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
3. ^ Bridge over Gwydir River at Bundarra . Roads and Traffic Authority (NSW). March 30, 2004. Retrieved August 18, 2009.